The two Gilded Age panics, or depressions, occurred in 1873 and 1893. Both of these panics were due to a major economic fall, and they each lasted for several years. These panics created high unemployment rates, sometimes exceeding ten percent, and caused banks to fail. The Panic of 1873 was caused by speculative investments similar to the Panic of 1893. Both events caused a political scene as well as an economic scene. The American people responded very well to both phenomena, and sometimes even became part of the problem. The government solved the problems in both of these panics because the American people looked to it for the solution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Panic of 1873 was not just an American depression, but a worldwide depression. It was caused by the new industrial capitalism brought about by industrialization, post-civil war inflation, speculative investment, and economic depression in Europe. Many factors have led to a decline in bank reserves. The Coinage Act of 1873 also played a significant role in triggering this panic. Immediately after Congress passed the law, silver prices fell, causing investors to become weary of long-term investments. The main American event that triggered the Panic of 1873 was the bankruptcy of Jay Cooke and Company, which was the nation's premier bank for long-term investments. invest. The company was largely supported by the railroads, particularly the Northern Pacific Railroad. It also handled government bonds, also known as "greenbacks", and was probably the largest bank known for this type of transaction in the United States. They sold many government bonds to individuals, which, when the bank's reserves began to fall, made bondholders fearful of losing their money. This in turn frightened others and started a chain reaction of people withdrawing their money from banks, thereby driving them into bankruptcy. At this point, factories even closed their doors, leaving thousands of people jobless. As one might imagine, people weren't too happy about this, and they responded to the Panic of 1873 with a railroad strike, all the while blaming President Grant and Congress. for poor management of the economy. The railroad strike stopped all trains in 1877. At that time, President Hayes was in power and used troops to try to stop the strike. By this time the damage was already done to the economy and it was not until 1879 that the economy recovered. However, a lasting disgust with capitalism persisted because of the panic. The Panic of 1893 was also a depression created by multiple events that weakened the economy. The main events that triggered this panic were the collapse of two railroad companies, the Philadelphia and Reading railroads. Additionally, at that time there was a depression in Europe, which caused European investors to cash in on their American investments. This also created a panic due to the loss of American gold. The stock market finally began to collapse and eventually hit an all-time low. Other railroads began to declare bankruptcy, and unemployment rose by the millions, climbing about twenty percent. The effect of the panic of 1893 caused the closure of hundreds of..